Suns Trade Nance To the Cavaliers

By SAM GOLDAPER

Published: February 26, 1988

The Phoenix Suns, unhappy with the prospect of heading for a fourth consecutive losing season, traded Larry Nance, their All-Star forward and Mike Sanders, another forward, to the Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday. The five-player transaction also involved the exchange of draft choices.

In return, the Cavaliers, who are headed for the playoffs, gave up Mark West, their backup center; Tyrone Corbin, a shooting guard, and Kevin Johnson, a playmaker and their top draft choice last June. In the exchange of draft choices, Phoenix sent the Cavaliers the 1988 first-round pick they got from Detroit for William Bedford, and received the Cavaliers' first-round choice in 1988 and their second-round choices in 1988 and 1989.

The Suns then made their third deal in two days, an exchange of small guards. Phoenix sent Jay Humphries to the Milwaukee Bucks for Craig Hodges and the 1988 second-round draft choice Milwaukee received as compensation from the Golden State Warriors when the Bucks allowed Don Nelson to become the Warriors' general manager. On Wednesday, the Suns sent James Edwards, their 7-foot center, to the Pistons for Ron Moore and Detroit's second round pick in 1991. No Trades by Knicks and Nets

In another trade, the Chicago Bulls sent Sedale Threatt, a streak-shooting guard who backs up Michael Jordan, to the Seattle SuperSonics for Sam Vincent, a guard Seattle obtained earlier in the season from the Boston Celtics. The Knicks and the Nets were not involved in any trades before the National Basketball Association deadline.

When the Suns-Cavaliers trade was announced, all the players had to do was change dressing rooms, introduce themselves to their new coaches and change uniforms. The teams met last night in Phoenix, with the Suns winning, 109-106. None of the players involved played for their new teams because they had not cleared their physical examinatiions. The Suns and the Cavaliers suited up eight players each: the Suns were without the four players they have traded, and the Cavaliers were missing the three players they traded to Phoenix and Brad Daugherty, who returned home for his father's funeral.

''It's obvious we are not happy with our current record and we're not happy with our record over the last few seasons,'' said Cotton Fitzsimmons, the Suns' director of player personnel. ''We talked to a lot of teams about Nance. We felt it was the best deal for us in regard to the youth of the players and draft choices involved.''

The 6-foot-10-inch Nance, who celebrated his 29th birthday earlier in the month, was leading the Suns in scoring (21.1 points a game), rebounding (9.9) and was named the league's the first time in the franchise's history that a player was so honored. Nance's scoring average was just a bit more than those of West, Corbin and Johnson combined.